MOSCOW, April 14. /TASS/. Rosatom is ready to answer any questions the new Hungarian government has concerning the Paks-2 nuclear power station, to review its parameters and price with the new power apparatus, CEO Alexey Likhachev told reporters at a briefing in Cairo.

He also said that Ukraine resumed shelling the Zaporozhye nuclear power station after the Easter truce.

TASS has compiled the key statements of the head of the state corporation.

Hungary's interest in Paks-2 nuclear power station

The new Hungarian authorities have already talked a lot about Paks-2: "We hear that there’s interest in our project as the winning head of the party has already talked about it several times, including a little critically regarding, say, the price.

"First of all, we have nothing to hide and expect similar trust in the implementation of this project. This is not a Russian or Rosatom project. This project is purely in the interests of the Hungarian people. What it will do cannot be overstated: more than 70% of Hungary's energy mix will be stable nuclear electricity. This will cover not only Hungary’s own energy supply, but also give it the opportunity to export the most valuable thing in Europe today - energy in general and electric power in the first place, electricity in the first place. This will make the Hungarian state and the Hungarian people self-sufficient and independent, and also make it extremely competitive as an economic operator."

Paks-2 effectiveness test

Decisions on the Paks-2 station, including the price, were made publicly, in cooperation with the IAEA: "We will answer all questions, about the price too. All the decisions were made absolutely publicly, in cooperation with the IAEA, in cooperation with international experts. And for us this is not a problem, it's part of our job."

Rosatom will need to defend the effectiveness of the Paks-2 project, the validity of its price and other parameters: "Of course, it will be necessary to pass an exam, in a good sense of the word. An examination of the effectiveness of the project, the validity of its price and other parameters. We are absolutely ready for this exam."

Hungary, in a sense, will also be taking an exam for "a serious promotion of one of the world's largest modern energy projects."

Shelling of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant

Ukraine resumed shelling of the Zaporozhye station after the Easter truce, causing a blackout: "Indeed, this night was not easy. After the Easter truce, shelling resumed, and one of the results of this shelling was the loss of power supply to the only Ferroalloy line at that time. The staff worked brilliantly by connecting the station to the power supply from mobile sources, from on-duty diesel generators. This is the 14th blackout experienced at the plant."

One of the blackouts lasted more than a month, "a world record."

A new IAEA mission left Moscow for the plant: "A shift has left Moscow, a new mission, already the 34th. These are representatives of different countries: Nigeria, Romania, South Africa, and Armenia. This multinational team of IAEA inspectors will arrive literally the next day. They are currently traveling by train from Moscow towards Zaporozhye."

The situation at the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran

Twenty Rosatom employees remain at the Bushehr station: "This is the head of our branch, his deputies, employees of the safety unit and technical engineers, whose task is twofold. The first is to ensure the safety of our residential town and the operability of the mechanisms and all construction sites. This requires constant supervision. I must say that our Iranian partners also took working engineers away from the site, leaving only the guards. And in cooperation with the Iranian customer, we must ensure the safety and ‘combat readiness’, so to speak, of this huge construction facility. At the same time, we must be as ready as possible to return to construction. Our Iranian partners are asking us to do this, as they say, not to put an end to the construction site, to be ready to return people, and most importantly, to expand and continue the work to move more intensively towards the implementation of this project. We set such a task and do not remove the second and third blocks of the Bushehr station from our priorities."

The last evacuation - of 108 people - started from Isfahan today at 5:30 a.m. (2:30 a.m. GMT) towards the Iranian-Armenian border.

El Dabaa nuclear station in Egypt

Rosatom and Egypt discussed plans for the El Dabaa nuclear power plant in detail: "We not only held talks with the Egyptian delegation headed by the Egyptian energy minister, but also reviewed in great detail the current date and plans for the El Dabaa project. Today we also reported our thoughts to the head of the Egyptian government and received approval of our approaches."

The first fuel for the El Dabaa plant being built by Rosatom in Egypt will be delivered in 2027: "Our task is to turn the first unit into an atomic energy facility starting next year. This means that fuel will arrive at the site in 2027 and tests and then launches will begin so that in 2028 the first nuclear power will be on the Egyptian consumer's network.".